Bar feeding apparatus



March 22, 1955 Filed sept. 2. 195o E.'A. SKOWRON BAR FEEDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet l Pig. 1

March 22, 1955 E. A. sKowRoN v 2,704,618

BAR FEEDING APPARATUS med sept. 2. 195o 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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March 22, 1955 E, A, SKOWRQN 2,704,618

BAR FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2. 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

March 22, 1955 E. A. sKowRoN BAR FEEDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 2. 1950 INVEN TOR.

March 22, 1955 E. A. sKowRoN 2,704,618

BAR FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Sept, 2, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENToR. M 0..

March 22, 1955 E. A. sKowRoN BAR FEEDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 2. 1950 @www - INVENTOR.

March 22, 1955 E. A. sKowRoN 2,704,618

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Us United States PatentO BAR FEEDING APPARATUS Edmund A. SkoWron, Pittsburgh, Pa., ass'gnor to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 2, 1950, Serial No.7182,901

6 Claims. (Cl. 221-263) This invention relates to feeding apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for feeding metal bars to dies that bend them into rail anchors.

Rail anchors are stripped from a forging die in a certain type of machine by means of a stripper carried by a reciprocating carriage that has a stroke of a predetermined length. lt is desirable to feed the bars that form the anchors to the die by apparatusoperated by the moving carriage. The stripper, however, would interfere with feeding the bars into forging position with only one stroke of the carriage.

It therefore is among the objects of this invention to provide such apparatus inwhich bars to be forged are fed by the carriage a distance which is equal to a multiple of the length of the carriage stroke, in which gravity plays a large part in the feeding operation, and in which the feeding mechanism is simple in construction .and dependable in operation.

In accordance with this invention slides are mounted on opposite sides of a die that has a forming face at its front end. The slides are movablelengthwise from back to front of the die and return. The slides extend above the die and have their inner faces provided behind it with vertical entry slots open at the upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontal bar that is to be forged. The inner faces of the slides also are provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of the slots, with which they communicate to receive a bar from-them. A stationary support between the slides supports the bar in the entry slots as the slides are moved forward. At the end of their forward position the bar drops in front of the support into the slide grooves. The inner faces of the slides also have vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of the grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving the bar froml the grooves when the slides are returned to their rear position. A stationary support between the slides supports the barinthe exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of the die. The bar is then pushed against the forming face of the die by means of a ram. After the bar has been shaped around thedie, -itis removed therefrom by means of a downwardly moving: stripper.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. .l is

fan end view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 isa plan view; Fig. 3

is a rear view; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. '3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the parts shown in ltheirrear position; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line VI-Vl of Fig. 4 .and rotated 90 .counterclockwise; Fig. 7 is a cross section through a slide, taken on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a fragmentary isometric View showing the slides in the position shown inFigs. 4 and 6 with the bars shown in broken lines.

Referring to the drawings, a rail anchorv forgingmachine 1 is shownwhich is operated continuously by an electric motor 2. Many of the details of the machine are not shown, because they form no p art of this invention. The machine includes areciprocating ,ram 3 and two side Shapers 4 and 5 which are reciprocated at right angles to the movement of the ram. The ram andI Shapers are formed for forging a metal. bar into the shapelof' a rail anchor around a stationary die- 7.supported.b y,a

,block mounted on the bed -9 of thevmachine. 4If desired,

the die and block can be combined intoy a single '.unit. As shown inFig. -6, the Vdie has a rail anchor forming 2,704,618 Patented Mar. 22, 1955 ICC face at its front end. The front end of the ram is divided into two parts that are squeezed together to bend the bar around the central projection of the die. The details` of the rarnY and the way in which it is moved form no part of this invention. f

A carriage 11 is slidably mounted above the ram and is reeiprocated in the same direction as, but independently of, the ram. This carriage supports a bracket 12 that extends rearward from it and which is provided with a pair of parallel grooves 13 in which blocks 14 slide up and down. Mounted in the blocks is a horizontal shaft 16 on which another block 17 is oscillatably mounted. This block carries four stripper fingers 18 adapted toengage a rail anchor below them and push it down from the die. Projecting upward from the center block is a rod 19 that is pivotally connected to the outer end of an arm 21, the. opposite end-of which is rigidly mounted on a rocker shaft 22 inside the machine. Another arm 23, fastened to this shaft, is swung back and forth by a cam 24 on a continuously rotating cam shaft 25 in the machine. As the carriage moves back and forth, the stripper rocks in bracket 12, but when the carriage is in its forward position the stripper is moved downward so that the stripper fingers will strip forged anchors from the die.

Fastened to opposite sides of the rear end of carriage 11 are blocks 27, from the outer sides of which project threaded pins 28 that support the front ends of a pair of parallel slides 29 extending back away from the carriage. The threaded pins also are used for bolting the slides to blocks 27. The rear portions of the slides are supported on flanged rollers 31 mounted on brackets 32 fastened to the back of the machine bed. The central portions of the slides are' adjustably connected by a tie rod 33, and the blocks 27 are adjustable toward and away from each other by an intermediate screw 34. The slides are for the purpose of receiving bars that are to be forged and transferring them toa position in front of the die.

To feed bars 36 to the slides, a pair of guides 37 extend upward from directlyabove the slides and are curved back to a horizontal table 38. The inner faces of the guides are provided with grooves 39 for receiving the opposite ends of bars that are pushed from the table into the upper ends of the grooves by a machine attendant after he has pushed them off the side of a conveyor belt 40 that brings .them to the table from a furnace (not shown) in which` they are heated to the desired forging temperature. A bar cannot be transferred from the lower ends of the guides to forging position in front of the die, all in one stroke of slides 29, because the stripper fingers 18 would interfere with feeding of the bars through the guides to the slides when the stripper is inits rear position. Therefore, it is necessary to feed the bars forward from the guides in steps, as now will be explained.

The guides 37 deliver bars 36, one at a time, to the top of the rear ends of slides 29 when the slides are in their forward or inner position shown in Fig. 4. The slides then slide back under the lowermost bar to their rear position shown in Fig. 5, in which the central portions of the slides are under the lower ends of guides 37. In that position the bottom bar drops out of the guide grooves and into vertical entry slots` 42, with which the inner faces offthe slides are provided, and' rests on a support 43 mounted on themachine bed between the slides. When tlie'slides move forward again they drag lthe bar across the support until the bar drops in front ofthe support', as shown in Fig. 4, into grooves 44 with which the inner faces of the slides also are provided. These grooves extend forward along the slides so that the slides can move backward again while the bar is held stationary by the front wall of support 43. When the slides complete their backward stroke the bar in front of support 43 drops down into exit 'slots 46, as shown in Fig. 5, which extend fromthe front portions of grooves 44 down through the bottom of the slides. The bar then rests on die block 8 (or the' die itself if it is a single unit) with its ends still located in the exit slots of the slides'.

rst bar Will drop in front of support 43, While the second one will drop in front of the die onto hooks 47 extending down trom the bottom or' blocks 27 and backward toward the die, as. shown in leig. 4. While the slides remain stationary, the ram 3 is moved towards the die to bend the bar around it, thereby pulling the ends of the bar out of the exit slots of the slides. As this is happening, the side Shapers 4 and 5 are moved toward the die to bend the end portions of the bar into the desired shape. As soon as the ram and side Shapers are retracted, as shown in Fig, 6, the stripper moves down, and its fingers strip the anchor trom the nie. hen the stides are moved to their rear position against to receive another bar from the guides and to permlt the intermediate bar to drop into the exit slots of the slides ready to be carried forward to the die.

The end of the anchor closest to side shaper 5 has to be closely controlled, which means that the right hand end of the bar (as viewed in Fig. 6) should always be in the same position relative to the right hand slide when the ram engages the bar. To make certain that the bars will always be in the same position, especially since they may vary slightly in length, each bar is moved lengthwise against the right hand slide while. the bar is being carried forward from support 43 to the front of the die. For this purpose the left hand slide is provided with a transverse hole through it at the front end of groove 44, and a bushing 51 is joined to the outer face of the slide in axial alignment with this hole. A rod 52, of considerably smaller diameter than the hole, extends slidably through the bushing and hole and has a head 53 on its inner end. This head normally is seated in a recess at the inner end of the slide hole, and extends down along exit slot 46. A coil spring 54 on the rod is compressed between the head and a shoulder in the bushing. This spring urges the head inward to the right (as viewed in Fig. 6), but its movement is limited by a block 56 fastened to the outer end of the rod. The block supports a roller 57 that rolls in a slot 5S in a cam 59 mounted on a support 60 above side shaper d. The cam slot is of such shape that when the slides are at either end of their stroke the roller holds head 53 in its outer position so that it will not interfere with movement of the bars along grooves 44 and into the exit slots. However, as each successive bar is carried forward in the exit slots of the slides, cam 59 permits spring 54 to push the head inward against the end of the bar and thereby push the opposite end of the bar against the other slide. Before the forward stroke is completed, the cam roller pulls the head back to its outer position. ln this way the right hand ends of all of the bars engage the right hand slide, so the right hand ends of all anchors made in this machine will have the same length and curvature.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, l have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. Feeding apparatus for feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member having an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots opnn at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a. horizontal bar to be bent. the inner opposed faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of said slots and communicating therewith to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides. and a stationary support between the slides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots so that the bar through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position, and said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member.

2. Feeding apparatus for feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member having an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots open at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontal bar to be bent, the inner opposed faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of said slots and communicating therewith 'to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides, a stationary support between the slides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots so that the bar can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the slides being provided with vertical exit slots exl tending from the front portions of said grooves down can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the slides being provided with vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of said grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position,.said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the siides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member and means between the front ends of the slides and movable with them for catching and supporting the bar when it drops from the exit slots.

3. Feeding apparatus for feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member having an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots open at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontal bar to` be bent, the inner opposed faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of said slots and communicating therewith to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides, a stationary support between the Aslides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots so that the bar can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the -slides being provided with vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of said grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position, said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member, means carried by one of the slides adjacent its exit slot and adapted to be moved inward periodically to engage the adjacent end of a bar in the exit slots to move the bar lengthwise against the other slide, and means beside the slides for moving said bar-moving means inward as the slides move forward.

4. Feeding apparatus for feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member lhaving an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots open at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontalbar to be bent. the inner opposed faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from thev lower ends of said slots and communicating Itherewith to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides, a stationary support between the slides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots `so that the bar can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the slides being provided with vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of said grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position, said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member, bar-pushing means carried by one of the slides adjacent its exit slot, a spring urging said pushing means inward to engage the adjacent end of a bar in the exit slots to move the bar lengthwise against the other slide as the slides move forward, and a stationary cam beside the outer end of said pushing means for retracting the latter as the slides move backward.

5. Feeding apparatus for feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member having an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots open at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontal bar to be bent, a pair of parallel tracks extending upward and backward from the slides, the inner opposed faces of the tracks being provided with grooves extending lengthwise thereof and open at their upper ends for receiving bars to be bent and open at their lower ends for delivering one bar at a time to said entry slots when the slides are in their rear position, the inner faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of said slots and communicating therewith to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides, and a stationary support between the slides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots so that the bar can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the slides being provided with vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of said grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position, and said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member.

6. Feeding apparatusfor feeding a bar into a position to be bent by a ram, comprising a stationary member having an exposed face at its front end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel slides on opposite sides of said member and movable in unison lengthwise from back to front of said member and return, a pair of laterally spaced elements supporting the front ends of the slides, means for adjusting said elements toward and away from each other to vary the spacing between the slides, the slides extending above said member and having their inner faces provided behind said member in a location intermediate the ends of the slides with vertical entry slots open at their upper ends for receiving the opposite ends of a horizontal bar to be bent, vthe inner opposed faces of the slides also being provided with grooves extending forward from the lower ends of said slots and communicating therewith to receive a bar therefrom, means for reciprocating the slides, a stationary support between the slides behind said stationary member and extending upward above the top level of the stationary member to support the bar in said slots as the slides are moved forward, the front end of said support terminating behind the forward position of the slots so that the bar can drop in front of it into said grooves, the inner faces of the slides being provided with vertical exit slots extending from the front portions of said grooves down through the bottom of the slides for receiving said bar from the grooves when the slides return to their rear position, said stationary member being adapted to support the bar in said exit slots as the slides are moved forward again until the bar drops in front of said member and a rearwardly extending bar-supporting element fastened to each of said slide-supporting elements for catching and supporting the bar when it drops from the exit slots.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 270,362 Alpress Ian. 9, 1883 281,961 Berry July 24, 1883 1,137,743 Dickson May 4, 1915 1,706,274 Woodings Mar. 19, 1929 1,766,298 Macke June 24, 1930 1,788,762 Fearing v Jan. 13, 1931 1,898,192 Larsen Feb. 21, 1933 2,522,316 Steiner Sept. 12, 1950 

